Review of Maurice Lacroix Pontos Rectangulaire Automatic Chronograph

Complications: date display, chronograph timing up to 12
hours in 1/5 second increments

Price: MSRP $4,750
USD (can be found heavily discounted)

Plenty of photos follow the review.
Click on the pictures to enlarge.

I talk a lot about
‘high value’ watches. By this I mean
watches that deliver the goods at a reasonable price, regardless of whether they
have ridiculously high MSRPs that do not reflect what the watches actually sell
at or are priced realistically to begin with.
Maurice Lacroix is what I consider to be a ‘high value’ brand even
though their watches carry high price tags. Maurice Lacroix watches can usually
be found heavily discounted, which is all the better for us WISes.

Maurice Lacroix is
a legitimate Swiss brand that makes about 90,000 watches per year in a wide
variety of styles and mechanical complications, with many movements modified
in-house. I have reviewed several
Maurice Lacroix (‘ML’ for short) watches before and have always given them high
marks; the watch being reviewed here is no exception.

The ML Pontos
Rectangulaire automatic chronograph seamlessly blends style, dressiness,
sportiness and functionality in a tank-style watch that can be worn in the
board room or the locker room with equal ease.

This watch is
currently the only tank watch I have in my collection, as I’m not usually a fan
of this case style, but this ML works so well in so many regards that I look
forward to wearing it and showing off its unique attributes. I have owned other tank watches over the
years and the fact that I still own the ML speaks volumes to its design and
overall ethic.

The ML Pontos
Rectangulaire starts with a substantial titanium case that is largely brushed,
with just a few areas being polished.
This finish helps to give the watch a more subdued appearance, which is
a good idea because while not being overly large, being a tank style, it covers
a fair portion of the wrist and due to the chronograph movement, it is also a
bit thick. Some might feel this watch is
‘too big’ for them due to the thickness and somewhat large tank dimensions, but
being titanium, at least it doesn’t feel heavy on the arm.

The Pontos
Rectangulaire measures 38.5mm wide without the signed crown; 41.1mm including the crown. Case height is 43mm and lug-to-lug height is
55mm. The lugs do turn down rather
severely so they don’t stick out too far from the case and the case is slight
curved to better hug the wrist, which helps make the watch easier to wear if
you have a slim wrist as I do. Case
thickness is 15.2mm and lug width is 26mm.

The crown is a work
of art, being signed and knurled in a machined way that gives it both a good
grip in the fingers and a cool look to the eye.
Nice! The chronograph pushers are
large and rectangular and are easy to use and function with a very satisfying
mechanical ‘click’ when depressed.

The caseback is a
display type that shows off the highly decorated movement with signed rotor and
is secured with four small screws, one at each corner.

Overall fit and
finish on the ML Pontos Rectangulaire is very good. The watch is factory rated for a relatively
modest 50 meters of watch resistance.

This particular ML
Pontos Rectangulaire has what ML calls the ‘anthracite’ dial, which is a fancy
word for gray. The dial looks great and
is fairly easy to read, as my experience with gray dialed watches is that they
are sometimes hard to read, even though they look good.

The design of the
dial has deep indents that radiate to the outer edge, with inset silver markers
at the five minute marks, save for the places where the chronograph subdials
extend into the edges of the dial. A
circular chapter ring has small arabics at the five minute marks and hash marks
for the remaining minutes.

The hour and minute
hands are simple silver with beveled sides, which help catch the light and make
them easier to see. The tips of the
hands are luminous, as are the tips of just the chronograph hour and minute
recorders; this is a detail that seems daft, as at least the chronograph and
subseconds hands should also glow, along with some markers on the dial. A small but confusing detail here that merits
mention as a nit to pick.

The subdial at 12
is the chronograph minute recorder and the subdial at 6 is the chronograph hour
totalizer. The subdial at 9 is the watch
seconds hand and is one place where the ML Pontos Rectangulaire really
shines. ML has used a clear disc with a
white triangle as the pointer to create the seconds ‘hand’, so when the watch
is running, is appears as though the seconds hand (triangle) is floating as it
makes its way around the subdial. This
subdial is ringed in silver with seconds marks and small 60, 15, 30 and 45
arabics. A super cool and detailed
subdial.

All the subdials
are recessed into the dial and the chronograph subdials at 12 and 6 have a very
subtle circular patterning on them.

A silvery on black
date wheel is at the 3 position. The
date is quickset and aligns properly in the window, which is outlined in a silver
frame. The font used for the date
numerals is also a bit fancier that the typical date font, which helps lend a
bit of class to the dial.

Just to the left of
the date window is the dial’s only printing (save for the ‘Swiss Made’ at the
bottom). Below a small applied silver ML
logo are the words “Maurice Lacroix, ‘Chronographe’ and ‘Automatique’. All very small and unobtrusive and since I am
a ‘less dial printing is better’ kind of guy, it works very well for me.

Capping the dial is
a slightly domed sapphire crystal that is also curved to match the curvature of
the case. Under my 8X loupe exam, the
dial exhibited no dirt and a ‘clean’ assembly.

Overall, the dial
on the ML Pontos Rectangulaire is a work of art and really sets this watch
apart from run-of-the-mill chronographs.

Running the ML
Pontos Rectangulaire is ML’s Caliber ML112 automatic chronograph movement which
is a base Valjoux 7750 25-jewel workhorse.
ML decorates this movement with nice Geneva stripes, a bit of perlage
and some polished pieces, giving it a superb appearance through the display
back. The rotor is also nicely signed
and decorated.

Being a Valjoux
7750 base, it performs like we all expect it to, with a strong 52.5 hour power
reserve and superb accuracy of +2 seconds/24 hours. The watch winds and sets properly and all the
chronograph functions work as they should.
Chronograph operation (start/stop/reset) is fine. All told, no complaints about the watchworks.

The ML Pontos
Rectangulaire comes on a high-quality smooth rubber strap with a chamfered
edge. The strap is non-scented (thank
you!), soft and rather thin, so it’s very flexible. The strap is tastefully signed on each side,
on the right, near the lugs. It’s also
signed underneath and marked ‘caoutchouc veritable’, meaning it’s genuine natural
rubber and also signed ‘Swiss Made’, so you know it’s a quality piece.

The strap measures
26mm at the lugs and tapers quickly to a 17.7mm dimension at the signed
titanium buckle. There are two keepers,
one fixed and one floating. The
inclusion of a rubber strap on this watch helps give it a sporty feel and a
nifty look. It’s one of the best rubber
straps I have in my collection and worthy of the ML name.

Presentation is
typical (meaning great) ML, with a large two piece square black heavy cardboard
outer box and a faux-wood-look plastic inner box with black vinyl lining. The packaging is heavy and has a substantial
look and feel about it, keeping with the overall quality of this piece.

In summary, the
Maurice Lacroix Pontos Rectangulaire is a cool watch that combines several
unique elements into a design that is stylish, functional and bold, without
being too flashy or superfluous. This
watch has a great look, high-quality construction and materials and a price,
when purchased at a discount, that qualifies it as truly ‘high-value.’ Maurice Lacroix does it again!

Cons: overall
dimensions can be too large for some, pretty darn thick, needs more lume on the
dial

Verdict: a real
winner in the world of tank-style automatic chronographs with true Swiss
quality, modern design and a strong value proposition. The Maurice Lacroix Pontos Rectangulaire may
be a mouthful to say, but it is a watch that says a lot!